Concrete trucks or transit mixers are well known in the construction industry and generally include a mixing drum mounted on a vehicle for mixing and delivering a batch of concrete. Raw materials, such as cement, aggregate and sand are loaded into the mixing drum at a batching plant. During the transportation of the materials to the job site, the mixing of the raw materials and/or concrete is continued by rotation of the mixing drum until the concrete is ready to pour.
The concrete may be used for a number of applications, such as pouring a curb, driveway, foundation, etc. Typically, to pour the concrete for such structures, the driver of the truck slowly moves the truck forwards or backwards as workers behind the truck guide or shovel the concrete into an appropriate form. Most concrete trucks are standard transmission vehicles, meaning they have a clutch controlled by a foot pedal and a stick shift which allows the driver to change gears. In order for the concrete truck to move forwards or backwards slowly, the driver must constantly engage and disengage the clutch with one foot, while the other foot is used to press and release the brake.
Pressing a clutch pedal in a truck is more difficult than a standard transmission automobile. For example, typical trucks require 60 pounds of pressure to press the clutch pedal. In a typical job, the driver of the concrete truck presses the clutch pedal approximately every three to five seconds to maintain proper speed while pouring the concrete. Moreover, dropping a single load of concrete can take two hours, causing the driver to press and release the clutch hundreds of times a day. After many years of driving concrete trucks, drivers are experiencing medical problems with their clutch legs due to the constant strain of pressing and releasing the clutch pedal.
Other standard transmission trucks have similar problems. For example, dump trucks often require loading loads slowly while moving forward. Drivers of such trucks also experience strain on their clutch leg, which may lead to medical problems.
It is desirable, therefore, to provide a standard transmission vehicle that simplifies the task of unloading and loading material at a job site and relieves the strain caused by use of a vehicle clutch pedal.